Galerians

Galerians
Developer: Polygon Magic Publishers: ASCII (JP), Crave Games (US/EU) Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: August 26, 1999 Released in US: March 29, 2000 Released in EU: June 9, 2000 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused cinematics. This game has regional differences.

Galerians is a survival horror game whose claim to fame is giving players the ability to explode the heads of foes. Its storytelling and atmosphere gained it a bit of a cult following - at least among those willing to tolerate its gameplay.

It's also noted for the way it wears its film influences on its sleeve - Akira and Scanners are inspirations cited by the developers.

To do: Examine the pre-release.

Placeholder Graphics

The itemtim file contains stills for Rion's "scan" ability, and some planned stills were apparently not implemented.

004	162
Billiard table without balls	Clinic office desk closeup
165	175
Managers office (A1301) old computer	Combat gear stored in Armory

Debug Text

Some error.
Yameta.
K_Yameta.
Reenter?
T01B debug only.

Unused Cinematic

There is a story digest video saved among the regular cinematics on Disc 2. This video is also present on Disc 2 of the pre-release and may have been intended as a promotional reel. The English text is slightly awkward, but largely grammatically sound. It also uses clips from the Japanese end credits song, "Wonderful World", as background music.

Regional Differences

Japanese vs. International

The Japanese version plays "Wonderful World", a song with Japanese/English bilingual vocals, during the end credits. The international versions replace it with background music from elsewhere in the game.

As acknowledged by Crave's producer in a May 2000 interview, Rion's drug use was "toned down" in the international versions via a name change. All drugs are referred to as PPECs (Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals).

(Source: We Chat with Galerians Producers)

Rion's age varies by region and source. In the Japanese version, he is consistently 14 years old. In the US version, he is 16 in-game but 14 in the instruction booklet.

Europe-Specific Differences

The European release cuts the last 10 seconds of the opening cinematic that shows Rion standing in a blood-spattered corridor full of corpses, so that the video fades out before this scene begins.

The European releases also remove the exploding head death animation when Rion shorts out. Further, instead of collapsing in a spray of blood, enemies are thrown backwards. The instant kill effect remains the same.

(Source: Movie Censorship)